Ancient Tomb Discovered in Egypt

A tomb that has been recently dug out in Egypt would have had a pyramid that measured 23 feet high at its entrance, state archaeologists. The tomb is about 3,300 years old and inside one of its burial chambers, a group of archaeologists discovered an exceptionally built sandstone sarcophagus which had been painted in red. It was made for an engraver who was named Horemheb.

The coffin has numerous images of Egyptian gods drawn on it and also hieroglyphic impressions that have recorded incantations from the Book of the Dead. Egyptians believed those would help one as he entered into the afterlife.

There was not any mummy found inside the sarcophagus, and the tomb itself had been robbed at least two or three times back in the distant past. However there were human remains found inside the tomb. Archaeologists discover the scattered array of skeletal remnants from at least three different men, oven ten women and over two children inside the tomb.

The various chambers in which the archaeologists dug into would have initially been located beneath the surface, only leaving the sharp pyramid observable to the naked eye.

The pyramid itself would most likely have had a small mortuary inside that could have contained a statue or two. All that is left of the pyramid are the tomb entrance walls that would have created the foundation of the pyramid. No other parts of the pyramid survived.

It was not unusual at the time for graves of select individuals to have their own small pyramids. It is believed that Horemheb’s family may have had some sort of ties to the military which allowed them to be able to have such a decorative catacomb.

The tomb was exhumed in both the summer and winter field seasons of 2013.

The bones found definitely showed many more females than males inside the crypt. This happens to raise the question of whether Horemheb had more than one wife or not. Polygamy was known to be common among the pharaohs, but it is not known if it was commonly done with people that were considered of non-royal status.

It is possible that the tomb was used for different generations of the same family and holds the remains of various female relatives. Or the crypt could have been used over and over, without permission, at later times. It just is not known for sure. Therefore radiocarbon tests might be used in at some point in the future in order to aid in solving the mystery.

The tomb that has been recently dug out in Egypt would have had a pyramid that measured 23 feet high at its entrance, state archaeologists. The catacomb would be around 3,300 years old and inside one of its burial chambers, a group of archaeologists discovered an exceptionally built sandstone sarcophagus which had been painted in red. It was made for an engraver who was named Horemheb. It was an amazing find.